Cervantes PrizeSpanish in full Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantesliterary award established in 1976 1975 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture; the prize was first awarded the following year. It is the most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-language literature. The Cervantes Prize is presented to an author whose Castilian-language work as a whole is judged to have most enriched Spanish and Spanish-American culture. The award is given annually, and there can be no cowinners.